Paper ID #15404Fundamental Research: Characterizing Underrepresented Students’ Interestin Engineering Careers and Their Teachers’ Beliefs about PracticesDr. Vanessa Svihla, University of New Mexico Dr. Svihla is an assistant professor of learning sciences at the University of New Mexico. She is par- ticularly interested in how people find and frame problems, and how these activities relate to innovation and creativity. She applies a range of research methods to understand learning in real world, interdisci- plinary and Computer-Supported Collaborative settings. She was selected as a 2014 National Academy of Education
Education, 2016 Trends in Texas High School Students’ Enrollment in STEM Courses for Career and Technology Education I. IntroductionWhile the demand for motivated students to enter STEM fields is at its highest, high schoolseniors’ interest in and readiness for pursuing these careers have been sluggish1. The largestimpact on STEM entrance is reported to be intent to major in STEM, which is directly affectedby 12th-grade math achievement and exposure to math and science courses. In the context ofTexas, House Bill 5 signifies a major policy shift requiring entering high school students in fall2014 to choose an endorsement, STEM being one of them. Career and Technical Education(CTE
Paper ID #15878Using Career Pathways to Assimilate High School Students into the Engi-neering ProfessionDr. S. Jimmy Gandhi, California State University - Northridge Dr. S. Jimmy Gandhi is an assistant professor at California State University, Northridge. His research interests and the courses he teaches includes Quality Management, Lean Manufacturing, Innovation & Entrepreneurship,Sustainability as well as research in the field of Engineering Education. He has over 30 conference and journal publications and has brought in over $500K in research grants to The California State University, Northridge.Dr. Vidya K
Paper ID #15195What Do YOU Like to Do?: Exploring Pre-College Students’ Career Aspira-tions and Perceptions of Engineering (Work in progress)Mr. James Holly Jr., Purdue University, West Lafayette James Holly, Jr. is a Ph.D. Student in Engineering Education at Purdue University. He received a B.S. from Tuskegee University and a M.S. from Michigan State University, both in Mechanical Engineer- ing. His research interest is exploring formal and informal K-12 engineering education learning contexts. Specifically, he is interested in how the engineering design process can be used to emphasize the hu- manistic side of
-related field)will be - and indeed, deserves to be - economically successful. According to this perspective, allof this will, in turn, help America's economy as a whole. This interpretation of science andengineering education in terms of its economic function pervades our society and academia farbeyond the NRC and NSTA, as STEM careers and innovations within the field are consideredvital to sustaining the health of our economy. The Next Generation Science Standards addressesthe purpose of science and engineering education and grapple with how to support teachers intheir effort to engage “all students” with these standards.Equity in science and engineering education?In recent decades, there has been significant criticism from academia and popular
ranging from $80,000 for mining and mineralengineering to $120,000 for petroleum engineers (Carnevale, Strohl, & Milton, 2009). However,in one ACT study (ACT, 2011) that is consistent with many others, only 25% of high schoolstudents met all the college readiness benchmarks set by the ACT in English, reading, science,and mathematics. While 45% met the mathematics benchmark, only 30% met the readinessbenchmark in science. Consequently, the STEM related workforce gap between the needs of employers andskills of the workforce is in turmoil. The Lemelson-MIT Invention Index that surveysAmerican’s perceptions’ about invention and innovation found that teens and young adults arehighly interested in pursuing STEM careers. However, 34% said
motivating students in the secondarylevels to pursue a STEM-related career.This paper is centered on the efforts of an inquiry-based, STEM educational program that usesthe conception, design, production, and deployment of rockets as a way to teach and improvestudents STEM-related workforce skills. The target population included high school students inone state in the southern region of the United States. Program evaluation data were collected viaa student questionnaire grounded on two theories: Social Career Cognitive Theory (SCCT) andthe Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).Based on program data collected during the 2014-2015 academic year, this paper will examinethe effectiveness of the program in motivating students to pursue a STEM career, using
Paper ID #16444Design of an Interactive Multidisciplinary Residential Summer Program forRecruitment of High School Females to EngineeringDr. Paula Ann Monaco, Texas Tech University Dr. Paula Monaco, E.I.T., successfully defended her dissertation research Spring 2016 and will begin a career in the water/wastewater reuse treatment. Paula has led multiple outreach summer programs at TTU and provides support to student organizations within the college of engineering. Her technical research focuses include; anti-fouling and scaling RO technology and pharmaceutical and personal care product screening to predict environmental
, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). He has been volunteering in many education outreach programs including Science Fair and Robotics pro- grams such as First Robotics competitions. Over the past four years, he published several journal papers and presented at national and international conferences. Areas of research interest include science and technology education, STEM, and robotics in science education. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 First Round Evaluation of First Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics Club: Does it Really Prepare Students for beyond College?AbstractIt is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the shift in careers requiring 21st century
Professional Development Center for Educators, College of Education and HumanDevelopment, University of Delaware, Newark, DE4 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CAIntroduction Over the past twenty five years, the government and industry have called for heavyinvestment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education anddeveloped an impressive array of classroom and extracurricular programming designed toencourage young people to pursue STEM careers [1,2]. Despite these efforts, the vast majority ofcollege-bound high school students continue to pursue majors outside of engineering and otherSTEM fields [3]. Furthermore, there are high attrition rates – some approaching 50
: enabling teamwork, having women staff at alllevels, emphasizing a variety of careers creating active/hands-on fun, and providingacademically challenging modules. Thus, from the start, we emphasized community. Wedeployed women staff at all levels – near peers (students enrolled in college), graduate students,women who work in the college, and women who work in the local area as engineers. Weemphasized community building among the cohort. And we embedded undergraduate students inthe camp, using a peer mentoring approach. These peers were paid for their contributions, andslept, ate and participated in activities with the girls, in four teams of about ten each. Note thatalthough the students are paid for their contributions, this is not a significant
focus is working across the Colleges of Engineering and Education on engineering education related ini- tiatives. She teaches undergraduate courses in the First Year Engineering Program and in the Department of STEM Education. Dr. Baldwin’s research interests include self-efficacy, motivation and persistence of underrepresented populations in STEM and engineering design in K-12.Ms. Angelitha Daniel, North Carolina State UniversityMr. Braska Williams Jr, North Carolina State University 13 years experience in K-12 working for Newport News (VA) Public Schools and 11 years experience at North Carolina State University; managed over $10 million in grants over my career including several NSF grants; extensive work in K-12 with
more than 90 peer-reviewed publications. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Comparing what 8th vs 10th grade students take away from engineering curriculum incorporated into their Physical Science Classroom- (Work in Progress)Background and MotivationEngaging students through hands on activities, projects and inquiry based instruction can be aneffective way to introduce engineering and engineering careers to high school students. Whenstudents investigate and learn about these topics through an extended design project, it couldincrease their overall interest in engineering or science subjects1. The National ScienceFoundation Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12
can be evaluated not only for their effect on STEM content learning, but also for 2their effect on student attitudes which can have longer-term effects on student career choice. 3Klopfer described six categories of attitudes relevant to science education goals: attitudestowards science and scientists, attitude towards inquiry, adoption of scientific attitudes likecuriosity and open-mindedness, enjoyment of science learning experiences, interest in scienceapart from learning experiences, and interest in a career in science.The 2000 report of the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st 4Century, Before it’s Too Late, noted the U.S.’s failure to
of the image ofself. Social cognitive career theory4 describes a process of career choice and path framed byBandura’s social cognitive theory. In this context, “career” includes preparatory activities,including choosing a college major. Lent, et al.4 described three social-cognitive factors that cancontribute to career choice: (1) self-efficacy beliefs, (2) outcome expectations, and (3) goalrepresentations. While self-efficacy has not been significantly associated with objectivemeasures of ability,5,6 it has been found to be significantly associated with or predictive of careerand academic field choice and success.7-9 This disassociation between objectively measuredability in a field and likelihood of pursuit of and accomplishments within
Paper ID #15409A Biomanufacturing Outreach Module for Middle School Students UsingLego-Based Desktop-Factory Concepts (Evaluation)Mr. James F. Nowak Jr., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute James Nowak is a Graduate Student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (M.S.-Class of 2016) majoring in Mechanical Engineering. His research includes 3-D printing of nano-composite materials and quantifying machining outputs used in clinical dental operations. He is passionate about inspiring local students to pursue engineering careers in advanced manufacturing. James is the recipient of the 2013 Haas Student Manufacturing Award, 2014
, E.I.T., successfully defended her dissertation research Spring 2016 and will begin a career in the water/wastewater reuse treatment. Paula has led multiple outreach summer programs at TTU and provides support to student organizations within the college of engineering. Her technical research focuses include; anti-fouling and scaling RO technology and pharmaceutical and personal care product screening to predict environmental exposure from passive treatment discharges.Aimee Cloutier, Texas Tech University Aimee Cloutier is a Ph.D. student studying Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech University. She earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech in 2012. Her research interests include biomechan- ics
, science, physics, andanatomy concepts to orthopaedic case studies of patients with musculoskeletal injuries.The BMEC lessons aim to inform students of careers in biomedical engineering andorthopaedic surgery. As part our research and development, we piloted BMEC lessonswith high school students from different schools and in different science courses. Ourgoal was to help students gain confidence with related math and science skills and bemore compelled to consider STEM careers.Research Questions The purpose of this study was to investigate what changes, if any, occurred instudents’ knowledge, engagement and perceptions of their engineering skills as a resultof participating in Biomedical Engineering Curriculum (BMEC). 1) To what extent did
pathway through engineering prepares aworkforce of secondary teachers capable of high-level teaching in multiple STEM subjects—either engineering coupled with science (biology, chemistry or physics), or engineering coupledwith mathematics. These engineers are motivated and inspired to pursue two career routesbecause they find value in, and passion for, both professions. The teacher licensure pathwaythrough engineering fosters students that develop engineering mindsets alongside theircommitments to give back through secondary teaching.The research reported in this paper investigates if and how students in the engineering plus (e+)teaching pathway, CU Teach Engineering, identify themselves as both engineering and teachingstudents, and what benefits
director of the Nonlinear and Autonomous Systems Laboratory (NASLab). She is a recipient of 2015 National Science Foundation CAREER award and 2015 Office of Naval Research YIP award.Dr. Mo Rastgaar, Michigan Technological University Mo Rastgaar received the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA, in 2008. He is currently an Associate Professor in mechanical engineering and the Director of the Human-Interactive Robotics Lab. His present research focuses on assistive robots by characterizing the agility in the human gait. Dr. Rastgaar is a recipient of 2014 NSF CAREER Award.Saeedeh Ziaeefard, Michigan Technological University Saeedeh
for curriculum, pedagogy, and projects. Middle and high schools have historically facedchallenges introducing engineering into the curriculum in an inclusive and authentic manner.Because these students are still flexible about their career decisions3,4, programs that peakinterest can still influence students’ college and career plans. An inclusive approach could havesignificant impact on the diversity of the engineering workforce.A large public university implemented EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) forundergraduates in 19955,6. The approach has been successful in preparing students professionallyas well as addressing compelling needs locally and globally. The program has also shown that itis an inclusive approach to
Caribbeannations. This needs to change as Trinidad and Tobago is one of the leading developing nations inthe Caribbean and there is an important link between science and engineering, and regionaleconomic development3. Reynolds et al. found that “introducing engineers to children as peoplewho solve everyday problems has been correlated with interest in engineering careers, anexperience using engineering design to solve everyday problems appears to reinforce thatperception and increase interest in engineering careers”4.Thus, the goal of our study was to evaluate interest and potential benefits of exposing secondaryschool students to practical engineering experiences. We investigated current knowledge ofengineering at the secondary school level in Trinidad
influencing their perceptions of engineers and attitudes towardengineering as a career. Subsequent evaluations comparing single-gender vs mixed-genderprograms including male-only programs had mixed results. The current study is a more rigorousexamination of gains in content knowledge and takes a closer look at the issues of self-efficacy,gender equity and qualitative perceptions of engineers using the Middle School Attitudes towardEngineering and Knowledge of Engineering Careers Survey and the Draw an Engineering Testin equivalent post 4th grade female-only, male-only and mixed-gender programs. Previousevaluations included higher-grade programs with some returning students that had alreadyparticipated in other program(s) so they had some prior
, approximately 18%. However, UMaine’s newly developedBioengineering and Renewable Engineering programs have a relatively high female enrollment atmore than 35%. We also surveyed first-year female students regarding their choice of major.When asked what type of jobs they see themselves in, our female students who were accepted intoengineering but decided to go to a non-engineering field, often responded that they wanted to bein people-engaged and environmentally responsible careers. They felt engineering would confinethem in solitary cubicles working alone with machines—a common stereotype of engineering.While the stereotyping factor can only be resolved when there are more female engineers in theworkforce, the environmental- and people
and STEM related careers; 5. Encourage campers to learn about engineering and the engineering design process; 6. Increase understanding of what engineers do at work; and 7. Allow for campers to visualize themselves succeeding in a college setting.The researchers measured the success of meeting these goals through anonymous pre- and post-surveys from 70 of the 99 camp participants on the days they attended the camp. These surveysincluded ranking, short answer, and multiple choice questions. Goals 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7 wereaddressed using these anonymous surveys, but after reviewing the 2015 camp, it has beendetermined that goal number 3 was not explicitly addressed.The 2015 STEPS camp featured a variety of changes from the last 15 years
University of Texas at Austin (1989). c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Work in Progress – Pre-college Engineering Activities with Electronic CircuitsAbstract Projects involving engineering experimentation, design, and measurement can be effectivecontent for pre-college STEM outreach. Such applications-oriented activities can promoteliteracy and interest in technical topics and careers and have the added benefit of showing therelevance of science and mathematics. Exposure to electrical engineering concepts is discussedusing the 555 timer integrated circuit. This low-cost device can be used for modular activitiesinvolving the production of light, sound, and
economical power delivery. The project seeks to involve families learning together while crea ng interest in STEM disciplines and careers. The project website offers a series of hands‐on and virtual energy related ac vi es and challenges. credc.mste.illinois.eduInves gate Renewable Power SourcesRepurpose the solar panel andrechargeable ba ery from asolar path light. The path lightis designed so that the solarpanel charges a ba ery duringdaylight hours and the ba erypowers the LED when it’s dark. Inves gate the components and circuitry. Use the solar panel to power the LEDs in the windows of one of the house s ckers. Can
coach. Mr. Carte moved to Riverside High School (Belle, WV) in August 2005 and undertook the challenge of starting an Advanced Placement chemistry program. Following the implementation of an AP program and a seven-year stint at Riverside, Mr. Carte took a chemistry position in August 2012 at George Washington High School in Charleston, West Virginia. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Paper ID #16151Mr. Carte has received several professional honors and service opportunities during his career. He wasnamed to Who’s Who Among American Teachers in 2001 and 2005. Moreover, during the 2003-2004school
encouraging them to follow theirlove of science and math later in life while choosing a career. Students also participated in a weeklong project where they were asked to give a PowerPointpresentation on what they learned during the camp. The competition served to boost teamworkskills and bring the concepts and lessons students learned together in a cohesive way. Moreover, parents were invited to attend a picnic and the girls’ presentations on the last dayof the camp. A range of information related to STEM majors (such as job opportunities andavailability of scholarships) was provided to the parents and the parents are expected to play amore constructive role when their daughters choose college majors. Agenda of the Summer STEM Camp is shown in